The present invention is generally to portable basketball goal assemblies and more specifically to foldable, portable basketball goal assemblies.
Portable basketball goal assemblies have many structures and methods of operation. The most simple is a weighted base with one or more wheels wherein the erect support for the backboard is tilted back over the wheel to be transported as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,025,058 to Brumfield. Other structures have been disassembled into a planar configuration as illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,716,234 to Lancellotti and 4,869,501 to Anastasakis. Others include a vertical support structure which collapses vertically as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,526,367 to Haston, et al. and 5,102,128 to Geise. Further examples of wheeled bases which are portable without adjustment are shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,886 to Sinner, U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,407 to Fitzsimmons, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,140 to Matherne et al. In the addition to the above, an example of a wheeled support having an enclosure for receiving ballast is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,631 to Dolan.
An example of a system using pivotal links or braces to collapse the assembly into a planar position and rotating it up on a series of wheels an the base is illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,946,163 and 5,098,092 to Aakre, et al. Porter Athletic Equipment Co. has a Model "535" which collapse to a planar position on a base and then the base is lifted and the unit is transported on wheels on the support adjacent the parallelogram connection of the backboard-rim combination. Since this an unweighted base, the wheels support the weight of the backboard-rim combination. This method of transport is not usable with weighted bases.
A more recent design of foldable, portable basketball goal assemblies have a vertical support pivotally connected adjacent a front end of a hollow base filled with ballast and a brace structure connected at opposite ends to the support and the base adjacent the other end of the base. Such structures are illustrated in my copending application Ser. No. 08/267,933 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and Ser. No. 08/190,457 as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,612 to Matherne et al. The brace locks the support in an erect playing position or in a lowered transport position greater than horizontal.
In foldable, portable systems, there is also question of safety of the user as the brace is adjusted from its erect playing position to its lowered transport position. The sliding brace structure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,612 provides stops which create a surface that could pinch the fingers of the user. In the lowered transport position, a mechanism should be provided which positively defines this position and prevents further collapsing of the support thereby preventing injury to the user.
In these systems, the weighted base attempts to counterbalance the weight of the backboard which is carried by the user during transport. Although the systems are designed to be used by adults, young children will attempt to transport the basketball system. These basketball systems may tip over completely either during the conversion from the erect to the transport position or during transport producing possible injury to the operator as well as possible damage to the backboard and its support and adjustment structure. Since most of the systems include a backboard adjustment structure, grabbing the backboard is not a secure element and it may shift. Such a structure is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The prior art height adjustment mechanism is illustrated as parallelogram structure 46 in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Another area of possible injury, in adjustable backboards having a parallelogram structure connecting the backboard-rim combination to the support, is the ratchet mechanisms used to lock the parallelogram in its various adjusted positions. An adjustable parallelogram structure which does not include this ratchet mechanism is the "U-CAN-SLAM" model offered by Porter Athletic Equipment Company. This includes an extension of one leg of the parallelogram past the support and an adjustment element connecting the extension to the support in its various adjusted positions. Such structure is described in the above mentioned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/921,645. This particular structure has not been applied to a portable backstop.
Playground equipment must meet child safety standards which require that upward facings Vs must be eliminated from the structure. These Vs have been the source of children's heads being caught, causing possible strangulation or breaking of the neck. Although basketball backboard support structures have not been considered playground equipment, it may be preferable to eliminate such Vs from the basketball support systems.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable basketball assembly which is more stable during transport.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable basketball goal assembly which has a playing and a transport position which are positively and fixedly defined.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a portable goal basketball assembly which is easy and safely converted from an erect play position to a lowered transport position.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a portable goal basketball assembly which is freestanding in its lowered transport position.
A still even further object of the present invention is to provide a adjustable basketball support structure which eliminates upward facing Vs.
These and other objects are achieved by providing at least one first wheel adjacent to the rear end of the base which has a support connected at the front end and at least one second wheel adjacent to the top of the support structure. By tilting the base onto the first wheel and the other end of the support including the backboard and rim combination onto the second wheel, the total structure is supported on wheels. The support may be pivotally connected to the front end of the base and a brace assembly is provided to fix the support in an erect playing position or in a lowered transport position. Preferably a parallelogram structure which adjustably mounts the backboard-rim combination to the support includes an extension extending past the support and the second wheel is adjacent to the end of the extension of the leg of the parallelogram. An adjustment link adjustably connects the extension to the support to determine the height of a backboard-rim combination.
The adjustment link and the second wheel are connected to the extension on a common axis and the one or more second wheels act as axial spacers between the adjustment link and the extension. The adjustment link may include a first vertical section adjustably connected to the support and a second section extending from the first section at an obtuse angle and connected to the extension. A mechanism is provided for maintaining the vertical section, substantially vertical and adjacent to the support. The juncture of the first and second sections is 6 feet or above when the adjustment mechanism determines the highest height of the backboard-rim combination. The two section adjustment link may be used with the extension of the parallelogram on a portable or a non-portable adjustment backboard support structure.
Method of transporting a basketball goal assembly, as just described, would include tilting the base from a playing position towards a transport position and on to the first wheel. The continued angular motion of the base tilts the parallelogram structure and backboard-rim combination onto the second wheels for transport. Preferably, the backboard-rim combination is adjusted to its lowest position prior to any tilting of the base. Where the support is pivotally connected to the base, the support is rotated from its erect playing position to its lower transport position relative to the base also prior to tilting the base.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.